Weeks after the properties of former ADMK Minister MR Vijayabaskar were raided by Tamil Nadu's Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in connection to the allegations of amassing more wealth than his stipulated income, his peer, and in fact, one of the bigheads of ADMK has now been brought under the scanner of the anti-corruption squad, levying more shock and trouble to the ADMK.

Former ADMK Minister SP Velumani is now the target of the state-run corruption watchdog and Tamil Nadu had wakened up on Tuesday to a piece of news that the sleuths of DVAC had stormed into the residence of Velumani and conducted states. SP Velumani had served as the Tamil Nadu Minister for Municipal Administration in the previous ADMK regime and he is one of the senior party leaders. Being close to former Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, SP Velumani has been emerging as the power-centric in the party.

According to reports, the DVAC has been conducting raids at 52 different locations including Velumani's residence on Tuesday. The raids had taken place in Chennai and Velumani's hometown of Kuniyamuthur in the Coimbatore district. The searches had begun at around 7.05 am on Tuesday and the raids were related to the corruption allegations against the former minister. After learning that Velumani's residence was raided by the authorities, hundreds of ADMK supporters including MLAs had gathered there. 

The reports say that the raids had come three weeks after the Tamil Nadu government informed the Madras High Court that it would reopen the investigation into corruption allegations against SP Velumani. The state's top judicial body had on July 20 granted the government's eight weeks' time to disclose the report and added that the state shouldn't lose its efforts in proceeding against those who had indulged in irregularities.

 It must be noted that the High Court was hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that was moved by the anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam in which it has alleged a pile of irregularities in the allotment of contract works for Chennai and Coimbatore corporations. The NGO had sought to form a special team to probe the allegations against SP Velumani, the former local administration minister who was responsible for the corporations and civic bodies. 

However, the DVAC, when the ADMK was in power, had given a clean chit to the then minister SP Velumani and based on the DVAC's report, the ADMK government had dropped the case against Velumani in January 2020. However, the NGO had fought a legal battle in the court and after the DMK has formed the government, the DVAC had reopened the investigation and on Tuesday, the authorities had stormed into Velumani's residence and conducted raids in connections to the allegations. 

According to reports, the DVAC authorities are conducting searches at 15 places in Chennai, 35 places in Coimbatore, one place each in Dindigul and Kancheepuram. The residences of a few corporation officials had also come under the scanner. On Monday, contractor Thiruvengadam from Coimbatore had filed a complaint against SP Velumani to the Chennai Police Commissioner in which he alleged that the former minister had cheated Rs 1.20 crore by promising that he will get government contracts to him. 

Thiruvengadam has further said that the former minister had intimidated him and threatened to kill him when he asked to repay the money. Thiruvengadam was earlier with the ADMK and close Kinathukadavu Damodaran, who was the erstwhile strongman of ADMK in the Western region. After SP Velumani rose to power in the ADMK, Thiruvengadam had paid Rs 1.20 crore in two instalments to the former minister with the assurance of government contracts. It has been reported that he had paid the money to Velumani in 2014. However, no such contract was given to him and he accused Velumani of swindling his money. 

The DVAC had filed an FIR against Velumani and 17 others in connection to the irregularities. As per the FIR, corruption was committed to a whopping Rs 464 crore and Rs 364 crore in the contracts of Chennai and Coimbatore corporations respectively. The FIR was filed under three sections and the DVAC authorities are questioning SP Velumani at the MLA's hostel in Chennai while the ADMK supporters in Coimbatore, in their bid to display their allegiance to the former minister, had staged protests against the raids and ransacked the barricades and squabbled with the police officers.